Baltimore Ravens Release Jacoby Jones; What It Symbolizes

Jacoby Jones, I'm sure you've heard of him. He's been the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver best known for his return skills for the last three seasons. Those three years wrap around the Super Bowl victory for the Baltimore Ravens, actually Jacoby's first season in Maryland.

This news isn't just about a player who lost his job and will have to seek employment elsewhere this offseason if he wants to continue to provide for himself, but it's symbolic of the Baltimore Ravens organization as a whole.

Let's look at Jacoby's time at Baltimore.

He was used in the air game with Joe Flacco, but he holds some prestigious return records, both franchise and NFL. First, he's had not one, not two, but THREE 108-yard kickoff returns in 3 years with Baltimore. One of which was in Super Bowl XLVII against the San Fransisco 49ers coming back from halftime. He was so electric on that play it turned the lights out in the stadium. So we know Jacoby plays lights out -- pun intended.

By the way, that play is the longest play ever in Super Bowl history, and helped him to accumulate the most all-purpose yards for a player in the Super Bowl era with 287.

How can you release a guy like that? How can you release a guy where if you DON'T have that guy, you don't win the Super Bowl? Or even reach the Super Bowl really, because Jacoby Jones was on the receiving end of the Rocky Mountain Rainbow pass in Denver that had them advancing in the first place.

If you look at it, just two years removed from that big game, this roster is completely different. And I did look.

Vontae Leach

Ray Rice

Anquan Boldin

Jacoby Jones

Ed Dickson

Matt Birk

Bryant McKinnie

Michael Oher

Bobbie Williams

Terrence Cody

Arthur Jones

Ray Lewis

Dannell Ellerbe

Paul Kruger

Bernard Pollard

Ed Reed

James Ihedigbo

Cary Williams

None of those guys are part of the team anymore, for whatever reason (retirement, trade, released, left, etc).

That's 18 guys, and they were each sufficient in the Ravens ball club that earned their Super Bowl. And who knows what it will look like with Torrey Smith and Owen Daniels on the free agent market.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

You can't even look at this team and say this squad has that championship pedigree anymore. Flacco, Suggs, Yanda, Ngata, and that's really it, of the people who had such a significant impact on their Super Bowl run. No wonder Joe Flacco doesn't look the same, he's playing with strangers!

It's bitter - for me at least - to hear that Jacoby Jones has been released from the Baltimore Ravens.

One year removed from a four-year deal signed to keep Jacoby in Baltimore and his loyalty to ink that contract worth $12 million is much appreciated by the Cowboys fans reading this. The Giants actually offered Jones more money, but he wanted to stay with the Ravens, a team he worked so hard to bring a Lombardi trophy. But loyalty doesn't coincide with business, does it?

I wonder where Seattle will be a year from now, and then the New England Patriots two years from now. My guess is the Patriots will look very different, just for the fact that the Seahawks are trying, or have already re-signed guys like Sherman, Wilson, Chancellor, Thomas, and company. While on the other hand, the Patriots have an aging quarterback, and their secondary is up in the air as far as re-signing Revis and McCourty.

I'm a life-long Cowboys fan. Where I was born and raised in North Carolina, it was a family tradition, and hopefully I can pass it down to the generations that follow. I love that football can always give us memories we'll cherish for the rest of our lives, and great moments, from the action happening on the field to who's sitting in the room with us while it happened.

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2018 Draft Class Season Review: LB Leighton Vander Esch

As the first round draft pick of America's Team, any player would be under a ton of pressure from all angles. Whether it's from the fans on the outside or the organization on the inside, the expectations around being a first round pick for the Cowboys are immense. But the pressure placed upon linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, from the second he was announced as the 19th overall draft pick, was second to none.

It felt like Cowboys Nation let out a collective groan when Vander Esch was taken, with fans hoping for a more glamorous first round selection. Someone like wide receiver Calvin Ridley or edge rusher Harold Landry would've done the trick, but after Vander Esch's rookie season it's hard to imagine either of those players would have had the impact Vander Esch did in 2018.

Though he didn't start a game until week 4, and didn't become the unquestioned full-time starting WILL until week 10, Vander Esch earned Pro Bowl honors for his rookie season. Tallying 140 total tackles and 2 interceptions, Vander Esch made his presence felt week in and week out.

Prior to the 2018 season, the Cowboys defensive success often came down to the health of Sean Lee. When available and playing at his best, Lee led an overachieving Cowboys defense to solid performances each week. But, when Lee went out (as he often did), the entire Cowboys defense seemed to fall apart.

This year, though, that all changed. When Sean Lee was out with injury the Cowboys defense got better. Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith became a versatile, hard hitting tandem the NFL immediately feared, and helped to direct the Cowboys defense to signature wins throughout the 2018 season.

There are arguments against taking any off-ball linebacker in the first round, as the value of the position has been questioned due to the new style of offense in the NFL. Nowadays linebackers are relegated to two-down players, taken off the field in favor of faster defensive backs on critical passing downs.

Leighton Vander Esch is athletic enough to be both an old school run stopper, but also a three down linebacker in today's fast paced NFL.

Despite the doubts which surrounded the pick, the Cowboys absolutely nailed their first round selection in 2018. And Leighton Vander Esch made Dallas' front office look like geniuses each and every Sunday.

What Is The Cowboys Most Pressing Offseason Need?

Finishing their season with a Division Round loss, Dallas Cowboys fans are getting a somewhat late start on the 2019 offseason. Of course, we'd much rather a later start, but the results are what they are.

Now Dallas must get better, and re-tool before heading into Dak Prescott's fourth season, and the Cowboys' 2019 campaign. Though they didn't feel all that close to a championship this season, looking around the roster, it's actually tough to identify one key need the Cowboys must address.

They are filled with young, talented players that they have high hopes for across the board. And in the places they are "older," such as across the offensive line, they have established veterans who aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

So what is the Cowboys' most pressing offseason need?

Well, despite already using their 2019 first round pick to address it, the answer very well might be wide receiver.

Adding Amari Cooper midseason provided a massive jolt to the Cowboys previously anemic passing attack, but on his own he is not enough to take this passing game to where it needs to be to compete in this new NFL.

Third round pick Michael Gallup is going to be a very good pro, and progressed really well as his rookie season went on. I think he can play opposite Amari Cooper nicely, and be the number two option in the passing game going forward.

Though arguably their best wide out against man coverage, Cole Beasley is a free agent, and if the reports are true about Scott Linehan returning in 2019 it could very well mean Beasley will not be opting to sign back with Dallas.

Regardless of Beasley's decision, however, the Cowboys need to seriously evaluate their pass catchers heading into next season.

This is a passing league. The rules have dictated that you must be able to pass the ball efficiently if you want to compete with the best of the best around the NFL. To take the next step in their progression, and reach an NFC title game and/or Super Bowl, Dak Prescott will need to have as explosive a group of pass catchers as possible.

The Cowboys have already taken solid steps to making this a reality, but another move or two this offseason could go a long way to putting Dallas in the conversation with teams like the Rams and the Saints in 2019.